Richmond times-dispatch. [volume], May 21, 1916, Image 49

About Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current

Image provided by: Library of Virginia; Richmond, VA

                
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When the Big Hoy Says "Lem-me
Look in Yer Basket or I'll Punch
Yer Face!"?What Should the
Smaller Boy Do?
Shall He Surrender, Tamely;
Whimper and Plead: Drop His
Basket and Itun?or Stand His
- CJround and Defend His Prop
erly at (he Risk of Being Rough
ly Handled? Have You Told
\our Boy Just What to Do in
Such an Emergency?
IF .i youncr r.iffnn tries to pick a row
wi?h your little boy .Johnny, shouting.
"Von humped into me! I am going
to i-mash you 111 the no.-e!" what is the
correct, thing for little .Johnny to do un
der such circumstances?
If a neighborhood huliy grabs your lit*
* fie Tommy's bag of marble-?what should
lift].- Tommy say and do about it?
i* soibh strange boy, girl or grown-up
person attempts cajoleries with your
daughter Mary?what is Mary to do and
say under the many different circim
stances which may arise?
Have you carefully instructed .Johnny
and Tommy and Mary on what to do
und- ? .1 ; i'es:e various unexpected sit
uation - | emergencies which are con
fron';:it: boys and girl-'.' How can chil
dren ? i xiicct'-d to face intelligently and
ari ndvisedly in thes. lmio daily trage
dies i ? life unless they arc instructed?
Hfn i- a tu-ld of practical instruction
which has been overlooked.
In ?:ie Japanese schools of Hawaii a
clever ?it'< !U|it is made to solve this proh*
leti: by nutans <.f colored pictun i illus
trating Die model conduct expected of
rhil in all sor's <?: fituati'ms and
emergencies. The pictures are scattered
over the walls of the schoolrooms and at
frequent intervals are changed, it is a
method of character education.
In the schools of the Cnited States
thero is n > such thing as character edu
cation a fact that is measurably account
ah!- tor the large percen'age of young
people who grow up into dishonest", law
let.'; or otherwise undesirable citizens.
Such education is a fundamental need of
th" nation, it is impossible for the child
to protect its own interests in matters
concerning character development. There
fore. in matters of the kind it has a right
to look to teachers and parents for help
and guidance, intelligently given.
Mr. Milton Falrchild, of Washington,
D. is at the head of an important
movement looking to solution of the
problem. He. is a man of original ideas,
and one of them is represented by a
camera of novel construction, made by
himself, with which he has already taken.
3.500 snapshots of street scones showing
children as actors in just such accidental
episodes and emergencies as are here
spoken of?for instance, boy fights, at
tempted bullying?, little chaps "hooking"
things, boys pitching pennies and soon.
In no case are the pictures "posed" for
the camera. They are scenes front real
life, each one of ttiem involving a "char
acter problem." The camera used (which
ran take thirty-six photographs a min
ute) is made to look like a small suit
(ase. so that the children who appear in
the pictures have no warning that they
are being "snapped."
For example, one picture shows a small
hoy carrying a basket home to his
mother. A larger boy wants to look into
the basket and grab something. The lit
tle I el low has a choice among several
courses of procedure. He can yell for
"mamma"; lie can bargain; he can whim
per and beg; ho can leave the basket and
run home. But the picture shows that he
docs none of these things. He holds a
stick in his hand and confronts tho big
ger boy. determined to protect his prop
erty. Who can doubt that he has solved
the problem rightly? it is a test of char
acter.
Colored drawings, such as those used
in the Hawaiian schools, are well enough,
but drawings are dead things. Photo
graphs ot tiio kind here described are.
alive and real. Children do not get tired
of them. When they are thrown on a
screen by the stercopticon tas thev aro
going to he used in schools ail over the
country before long) they instantly gain
the most interested and enthusiastic at
tention. J hey are. at once recognized ns
the "real stuff." and the character les
sons they convey produce a correspond
ingly vivid impression.
Another picture shows a group of boys
who have "hooked" a barrel belonging to
a poor woman. It. is her ash-barrel, nnd
6he cannot easily replace it. They want,
it to make a bonfire. Rut a policeman
lias caught them in the act and they are
trying to 'lie out of it. It is obvious
that the boys have done a mean and un
worthy thing and that lying oniv makes
it worse.
When children understand that they
are to receive moral instruction, they ex
4
This hoy and girl are at a dangerous
ace, unless their outlook on life is prop
erly directed. They are on the verge
of manhood and womanhood. If your
Mary and the n ighbor's hoy. Jack, are
not well-controlled morally, tragic mis
chief may result. .lust what have you
told your Mary about character educa
tion as a vital necessity?
peel n "goody-goody" talk. They sus
pect it to he more or less humbug and
are not much impressed. But throw a
picture of an actual boy fight on thA
screen and I hey are interested at once
It is wonderful to see bow their fares
change. They know that they are nor,
being fooled. It is the real tiling.
One picture shows a boy at the head
of his "crowd." crossing a street to pick
a fight with another, boy. The other boy
makes no response; he goes on home.
He is not a coward, hut he sees no oc
casion for fighting. It is no reason to
fight just because another boy wants to
fight. If a fellow i= actually attacked
he must, of course, defend himself man
fully.
Any teacher or mother, once having
grasped the idea, ran find pictures in
newspapers and magazines?pictures out.
of real life?that she ran utilize for char
acter instruction. A Sunday school
teacher might profitably cut out the pic
tures on this page, paste them separately
on pieces of cardboard and pass them
around among hrr pupils, with a lew
words of descriptive comment.
Another of Mr. Kairchild's photographs
shows a backyard devoted to boyhood in
dustry. A hoy. on his knees, is melting
iron in a little blast-furnace that he has
built himself, lie. is casting wheels for
a miniature street car which he is mak
ing for the purpose of studying out tho
operation of real vehicles of tho kind
by electricity. Incidentally, though be
does not know it, bis industry is develop
ing his character. Can there be a doubt
that this boy will succeed in what he un
dertakes in life?
A child's character grows stronger or
weaker according as the right or wrong
solution is adopted for the conduct epi
sodes that confront him. Pictures that
touch on real life?the life of the child?
make the problems vital and concrete,
and the lesson r? they convey impress chil
dren's minds with proportionate strength.
One. photograph shows a group of boys
pitching pennies "for keeps." It is very
bad education for them. For one thing,
It means loafing, which weakens char
Which one of your boys is iiv this crowd? Of course, vou feci perfectly sure
that your Jimmie is not a gambler. But is he a little loafer? And if Jimmie loafs
around and keenly watches the gamblers, how long will it be before Jimmie himself
is a gambler? Exactly what have you said to him not onlv about gambling but
about loafing around among street gamblers? " '
; *-p- ?:__r_*r*? :**-r'i'?v.?? ??? L-i&ffl&Sffl-. ... _.. 1J
Only Two Little Girls Pulling and Hauling and Struggling for the Posses
sion of a Skipping Rope. Pretty Soon There Will Be, Perhaps, Scratch
ing, Biting. Kicking and Pulling Hair. Have You Explained to Your
Little Girl How Foolish It Is to Have a Squabble of This Kind?How
Much Belter Time They Would Have if They Compromised on a Possi
ble Basis and Played Hope Together Peaceably?
actor, just a?, on the other hand, indus
try builds it up. Gambling is highly de
structive. A person, young or old, who
has once acquired the habit wants to
vin iiis way by luck or cheating rather
than by earnest endeavor.
Unfortunately, many boys are addicted
to pojty thieving. They call it "hook
ing things." and are often rather proud
of their skill at it. That it is a disgrace
ful thing to do does not occur to them.
Vet stealing make? a sneak, and th?
thief-hoy. even though inspired by mere
mischief in such operations, is in danger
of developing into a criminal. .Many a
thief-boy may bp turned into a boy of
honor by making clear to his mind the
unfairness and mistiness of stealing.
Another photograph shows a group of
small boys in whose company is an older
and bigger boy. slouchy of demeanor. He
is manifestly their leader; to a great,
extent he directs their thoughts and in
tluences them in ibe formation of their
ideals. It is obvious that he is not a
good boy. and the mischief the little
chaps suffer from his leadership is an
infection of character which is liable to
affect their future and lessen their pros
pect of turning out useful citizens.
Hoy fights are phenomena more than
ordinarily interesting. At five or six
years of age a boy tights whenever an
other boy doo.s anything he does not like.
\t ten or twelve if is time for him to
think whether lighting is always right, or
when, if ever, it is right to light.
If a boy seeks instruction on this point
from his elders, he is likely to be toid
that it is always wrong to fight. But
this is not true, and he knows it is not
CepyriRht, 101ft, bv the Star Company.
true. The instruction therefore, is worse,
than wasted. What he ought to he told
is that fighting without necessity is mean
and muckerish, hut that there are occa
sions when it would he shameful and do
structive of his own character for a hoy
not to fight?as. for example, if attacked
or in defense of a weaker hoy assailed by
a bully.
A photograph shows two brothers quar
reling. The younger has done something
the elder brother did not like. After
chasing him two blocks, the bigger boy
has caught the smaller one an.l pounded
him till ho whimpered Quarrels between
brothers are surely wrong and dis
graceful.
Most boy tights are wrong anil foolish.
If two men behaved so, other men who
might chance to be witnesses would be
ashamed and disgusted. There is no rea
son why the code of decent men in such
matter.- should :.ot be the code of decent
boys.
In another uiciure a gang bully is pes
tering a newsboy and trying to drive him
away from his chosen business corner.
This i? the kind of bully who, to, elicit
the laughing applause of his companions,
will make fun of a lame old man, or
knock a market basket from the hand of
a poor old woman. He is a coward, whose
specialty is malicious mischi? I a: the e:;
[irii.-" r other, weaker that! hunsclf.
When he fight.; he expecis his gang to be
ready to "pile on."
The difference between a real joke and
a cruel Joke is that the latter is not a
joke at all; it is simply malice. A hoy
should bo taught, that mean jokes are
Great Prttnln Rights Reserved.
"1
The hoy and older girl are leading
ihi> smaller child between them, hand
in hand. This they do to protect the
little one from the dangers of the
street. This little group of three, hand
in haivd, the youngest in the centre, is
not an accidental grouping?these chil
dren have been brought up hy proper
character education until it has become
an instinct with the older brother and
sister to defend the weak.
never amusing: never otherwise tlwn
disgusting ami shameful.
A snapshot shows a poor dog with n
broken leg, hobbling along. A boy did
it with a stone. How cowardly tho net,
considering the fact that the dog could
not "throw back." It is worth any boy's
while to fight to save a dog a hroken
leg. Suppose that a boy's own dog is at
tacked. Should he not defend his faith
ful four footed comrade with all his
uiicht ?
Schools (says Mr. Kairehildi should de
velop the spirit of work in every child
as far as possible, and not a lazy bone
should be left in the child's body when
When the Street Bully Says,
"Gim-me That Bag o' Apples or
I'll Punch Yer Nose!"?What Is
the Smaller Boy Expected to Do?
But Suppose in This Case the Big
Boy, the Bully, Happens to Be
Your Boy. Have You Instructed
Y our Boy Firmly and Definitely,
Until He Realizes How Contempt
ible It Is to Be a Bully or a
Cheap Leader of a Little Gang of
Street Ruffians?
character education has done Its com
plete work. Even tlie intellectual educa*
tion given in schools is dependent for
Us success on the character development
of the pupils, because without serious
purposes the child does not progress in
tellectually.
Mr. Fairchild is the head of the Na<
tional Institution for Moral Instruction
(located in Washington), the whole ob
ject of which is to devise means for pro
moting the character education of chil
dren. Through this organization, which
has the backing of many educators and
other influential men all over the coun
try. a business man has anonymously
offered a prize of $5,000 for "the best code
of morals suitable for use by teachers and
parents in the training of children."
It is not. in the ordinary sense an open
competition. Seventy codes are to be of
fered?at least, one from each State of
the Union. Tho writers of them have
been selected by tho State superinten
dents of education. One of the five New
York contributors to the symposium is
Mrs. Henry Osgood Holland, of Buffalo.
Massachusetts will be represented by
Mrs. Ella Lyman Cabot, of Boston. One
of the contributors from California will
be Mrs. Roger J. Sterrett. of Los Angeles.
From Illinois will como a code prepared
by J. Howard Moore, of Chicago. All
seventy codes will eventually be bound
together in the form of a text-book.
Some foolish persons, having learned
of the competition, have in all serious
ness offered tho Ten Commandments as
the best possible code. But (says Mr.
Fairchild) the Ten Commandments are
written for adults. The first half of
them deals with religious duties exclu
sively and not with moral problems. How
about the latter half?
"Honor thy father and thy mother" is
appropriate for children. Likewise,
"Thou shalt not kill," if there is question
of using a knife in a tight?a thing hap
1'ily rare among boys. The/sevi nth com
mandment can have, no appiietaion to
children. "Thou shalt not steal" i? a
much-needed commandment in the child
world. But. to children, what significance
has "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's
house"? Most children never think of
doing such a thing. A boy Is usually well
satisfied with his own house, and to cast
a slur on It means a fight.
"Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's
wife." Why should a child covet a wife?
What does a girl child want of a wife?
A neighbor's wife would bo some other
child's mother, and all children want
their own mothers. "Nor his man-servant,
nor his maid-servant." But in the homes
of nine out of ten children who go to
the public schools thorn is no servant
at all.
Unfortunately, a child has to wait to
grow up before the moral ideas of adults
are of any use. to him. It is just this
lack of a definite moral code for children
that, through the prize competition above
described, the National Institution lor
Moral Instruction hopes to supply.
Motorists Safest
WHAT are the factors which make
a motor car safe'.' In the first
place, is speed a danger or a
safety factor? At first thought, one would
i>e inclined to say "danger," but \V. E
Stalnaker, a well-known automobile man
nfacturer, makes the statement that speed
is one of the most pronounced contribu
tors to safety that a motor car possesses,
provided ahvavs other essential condi
tions nre right. Ho cites, for example,
the number of accidents in motor-car
racing when motors were slow, as com
pared to the comparative freedom from
accidents in the recent high-speed events,
where the speed ran higher than one hun
dred miles per hour.
"I do not mean," ho says, "that this
tremendous speed would not have been
extremely hazardous when cars were
built poorly, but with modern construc
tion. which is designed with speed con
stantly in mind, the element of speed
has very little awe for the average spec
tator.
The railway has not run away from ill 1
motor car in the development of safety
devices, Wltilo the motor car has a great
deal harder conditions to combat than
When Speeding?
does the railway, it has met them quite
successfully.
Then, too, there is not the matter of
soft resilient pneumatic tires to contend
with in the case of the railway train.
The tire-maker has done as much to
make motoring safe as any on'"*. Then
comes the spring-maker and the high
grade specialist, who is responsible for
the little steering knuckles, which dare
not give way. You seldom hear of a
broken steering knuckle these days?it
used to be quite common.
But while enumerating the parts mak
ers have contributed to safety, don't for
get the man who makes the motor itself.
A wild, unbalanced motor is one of the
most dangerous things that might enter
into tho construction of a motor car. It
will rack a car from rear to front. It will
work on every bolt and loosen it in spite*
of fate and high water. There is nothing
which weakens a motor car throughout
its whole chassis so much as a vibrant
and poorly balanced power plant.
Vibration has been the antisafer.y in
fluence which all engineers have been
striving to conquer. And the battle
was won when the multiple cylinder mo
tor attained a state of ?>erfo<jtioD.